News roundup: October 2, 2026

By Tri-Cities Transport Action Group

We're trying a new day of week for the news roundup, so here's the last several days of walking, biking, and transit news for Waterloo Region.

What's happening

• MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS: Elections for city, township, region, and school boards will be on October 26. You can support candidates you'd like to see in office by volunteering, taking a sign, or donating.
  • A CivicTechWR project called Waterloo Region Votes aggregates information for voters about local municipal elections.
  • We published the TriTAG Election Questionnaire, featuring 93 responses so far from candidates across Waterloo Region to questions about transit and active transportation.
  • The Record and Vox Pop Labs are making available Vote Compass, a tool to help voters check their political alignment with local candidates. (The Record)
• BIKE ROUTES: The City of Kitchener is developing Route 3 from Sunrise Centre to Fairway Station. Residents are invited to provide comments and feedback about the route by October 12. Staff will also conduct a workshop on wheels on Sunday, October 4, from 2 to 3:30pm, starting at Sunrise terminal. (EngageWR)
• REGIONAL BUDGET: The Region of Waterloo has a survey out to inform 2027 budget planning. They will also be in person this week at Cambridge Farmers Market on Saturday, October 3 from 7am to 1pm, and at the Region of Waterloo Library in Ayr next Wednesday, October 7 from 12:30pm to 6pm.
• WATERLOO PARK: The City of Waterloo is updating its plan for Waterloo Park, with a survey open until November 30. Next Wednesday evening, October 7, staff will host a public consultation on several themes of the plan. (EngageWR)
• VIOLET'S LAW: The parents of the 3-year-old killed while crossing a Cambridge street in December are pushing the province for a set of mandatory responses to any fatal pedestrian collision. (The Record, Change.org)

Walking, biking, and streets

• CBC: Lime e-bikes and e-scooters roll out in Waterloo region. Lime takes over after Neuron vehicles were removed earlier this summer
• City of Waterloo: City of Waterloo receives Ontario's first ever 'platinum' level bicycle friendly community status
• CBC: Better ways to honour veterans than commemorative crosswalks, Cambridge group says
• CBC: Hidden cameras show some stores unlocking speed limits on e-bikes, selling e-scooters that go up to 120 km/h. Marketplace visited stores in GTA to see recommended ages and maximum speeds available
• CBC: 2nd person dies as a result of a collision in Wilmot Township in August

Transit

• GRT provides an overview of the current and forthcoming signal priority measures across the Region (Grand River Transit)
• A new Regional report provides an update on the Kitchener Central Transit hub project. Demolition on site is to begin next month, and construction on the platform and on Victoria Street North will begin next year, with 2030 the target for substantial completion of the new train station. (Sustainability, Infrastructure, and Development Committee)

The shape of our cities

• Municipal Election
  • Cambridge Today: Housing, taxes and encampments take focus in Cambridge mayoral candidate Q&A.
  • The Record (Opinion): Here’s a breakdown of Waterloo regional council members who are running again, and how they voted on key issues, compiled by columnist Luisa D’Amato
  • The Record (Opinion): There are many issues to consider in the upcoming municipal elections across Waterloo Region, but above-inflation tax increases top them all, Luisa D’Amato writes.
• Regional Council will receive a progress update on the Region's plan to end chronic homelessness, and a staff recommendation for a 10 year plan addressing housing and homelessness (Community and Health Services Committee)
• The Record: Grand Avenue development reduced from 28 to 22 storeys. Project has been before the OLT since September 2025.

Elsewhere

• CBC: Ontario health-care coalition denounces province's plan to remove bike lanes across Toronto
• CBC: New bus-only roadway on former Scarborough RT route will shorten commute times: TTC
• The Globe and Mail: Vancouver transit operator expands into real estate. TransLink hopes to improve transit network connections and create more housing
• Urban: PLUS ULTRA: The tram came back. Did we learn why it left? From German tunnels to French boulevards, the streetcar’s revival depended on changing the conditions that once made it fail.